This invention relates to improved methods and apparatus for cleaning or cutting glass or other plate like material.
Currently, glass is typically cleaned or cut by placing the glass on a flat surface. This is disadvantageous in that it is difficult to pick up the glass. In addition, an individual may cut his or her fingers while trying to pick up the glass.
The present invention in one or more embodiments provides a portable device for elevating glass and holding glass or some other plate like material, while the plate like material is being cleaned or cut. The device should have the ability to be folded or slid together so that it can be easily stored or expanded outwards for usage.
The present invention in one or more embodiments provides a method comprised of expanding an expandable apparatus and placing a sheet of glass or some other plate like material on the expandable apparatus. The sheet of glass can then be cleaned or cut.
The expandable apparatus may be comprised of a first and a second member. The first member and the second member may be each comprised of a plurality of bumpers or one or more strips of material, wherein the glass is placed and lies on the plurality of bumpers or the one or more strips of material. The first member and the second member may be rotatably connected together. The bumpers or the strips of material may be rubber and may retain the glass in place through friction.
The first member may have a first side to which a plurality of bumpers are attached. The second member may have a first side to which a plurality of bumpers are attached. The first and second members may be connected together so that the first side of the first member and the first side of the second member lie in the same plane. The first and second members may be connected together so that the spacing between the first and second members can be adjusted.
The first member and the second member may each have first and second ends. The first end of the first member and the first end of the second member may be rotatably connected together. The first member may include a second side, which has a plurality of legs attached to it, and the second member may include a second side, which has a plurality of legs attached to it.
The expandable apparatus may be further comprised of a third member and a fourth member. The first end of the first member may be rotatably connected to the first end of the second member. The second end of the first member may be rotatably connected to the first end of the third member, and the second end of the third member may be rotatably connected to the first end of the fourth member. A point substantially at the center of the second member may be rotatably connected to a point substantially at the center of the fourth member. The connections may permit the expandable apparatus to expand and contract. A plurality of further members may supplement the first, second, third, and fourth members or may lie in between any two of the first, second, third, and fourth members.
The first member and the third member may be about equal in size. The second member and the fourth member may be about equal in size. The first member may be about half the size of the second member. The first member and the third member may each be comprised of a first portion and a second portion having different thicknesses. The second member and the fourth member may each have substantially uniform thickness.
The third member may be rotatably connected at its second end to the fourth member and the fourth member may be rotatably connected at a point substantially at its center to the third member at a point substantially at its center, so that the third member and the second member lie on top of the fourth member. The first portions of the first and third member may have first ends which are curved and second ends which are straight edges. The first portions may have a width which gradually increases from the first end to the second end.
In one embodiment of the present invention an apparatus comprising a first rail and a second rail is disclosed. A first member and a second member are provided which are connected to the first rail at their first ends and to the second rail at their second ends. The first ends of the members, in this embodiment, can be slid along the first rail and the second ends of the members, in this embodiment, can be slid along the second rail, in order to adjust the spacing between the first and the second members.